College Composition CLEP Prep Practice Exam

What is the purpose of summarizing a text?

1. To provide a brief overview of the main points

2. To present the argument in a more concise manner

3. To assess the sources included in the text

4. To elaborate on the author's argument

The correct answer is: To provide a brief overview of the main points

Summarizing a text involves providing a condensed version of the main points in a text. Option B is incorrect because summarizing does not involve presenting arguments, but rather, summarizing them. Option C is incorrect because assessing sources is a separate task from summarizing a text. Option D is incorrect because elaborating on the author's argument is not the purpose of summarizing, but rather, it is to concisely convey the main points of the text.